Taken
by Graceful Swan 29
Summary: Alex's life was just getting back to normal when something happens... something that will change his life forever.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 

Alex's P.O.V.

I felt like smiling as I walked home from school which was rare since MI6 started using/manipulating me, but was happening more and more often. Why? MI6 hadn't contacted me in months and my life was finally getting back to normal or as normal as it will ever be. I was all caught up in school, rumors that I was on drugs and/or in a gang seemed to die down and more people were beginning to trust me again. Even the nightmares I usually experience every night came less often. To sum it up: all was good.

"Jack! I'm home!" I called out once I was in the house. When no response came, I became worried. I hurried into the kitchen only to stop dead in my tracks and stare at the sight that laid there before me. Jack, my guardian, the woman who's been like a sister to me for years was lying on the floor, dead. How could I tell? Well the bullet hole in between the eyes was a dead ringer. It felt as if my entire body was freezing over with ice. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe but none of this mattered, nothing mattered anymore because Jack was dead and there was nothing I could do to save her, not this time.

There was no time to mourn her now for three burly men emerged from the shadows of the far end of the kitchen, all three pointing their guns at me. These were no doubt the men that had killed. I memorized all their features so that if I survived this, I would kill them… slowly and painfully, for taking the only family I had away from me. After that I didn't think, I ran out of the house as fast as I could not caring what-so-ever if I got shot or even killed just wanting to get out of there. Now was not the time for revenge, besides picking them off one by one later would be easier and less fatal them facing them now. It was only by chance that I got out of there alive and surprisingly unwounded. The men didn't expect me do to something as idiotic as run and were as surprised as I was when I did. By the time they went after me I was out of the house and over half-way down the street.

I continued to run even when I was out of sight of the house; I pushed past pedestrians, who were looking at me strangely. I had no idea where I was going nor did I care. I was concentrating on not thinking about Jack, but that wasn't going very well, I couldn't get the image of her dead body on the floor, bullet hole in her head and the blood. A few tears rolled down my cheeks before I could contain them. The few tears were followed by a few more and I had to stop running because the tears blinded me. I wiped the tears from my eyes and pulled myself together; I would shed tears for Jack later and mourn her properly. I looked around to see where I was and groaned… I was at MI6 headquarters. I was at the very place that ruined my life in the first place.

**Author's note: Hopefully this doesn't suck too much. This is my first fanfiction, so please review and tell me if this is any good or not or if I should continue.**


	2. Chapter 2

*Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider.*

**Chapter 2**

I stared at the normal looking build for a few seconds, weighting my options. Cursing under my breath when I realized going in was my best option although only slightly better than getting killed which I was actually considering. The only thing wrong with that plan was not being able to avenge Jack; god, I was becoming obsessed with revenge.

Anyway… I went into the "bank" not noticing that my eyes were scanning the place for anything suspicious, no matter where I was, no matter how "safe" it supposedly is, I always seemed to do that.

I walked up to the receptionist; she was a pretty blond in her mid-twenties. She had clear blue eyes that seemed friendly yet hard at the same time and she smelled faintly of lilacs indicating she was wearing perfume.

"Hello" I greeted her casually trying to keep my voice light, "I would like to speak to Mrs. Jones."

"There is no one here by that name." The receptionist replied, smiling though it was very obviously forced. I rolled my eyes, not pleased and let a bit of my anger show.

"Oh please, I know this isn't really a bank and is the headquarters of MI6, so cut the crap." I kept my voice low, almost a whisper but that only made me sound more dangerous and close to snapping. Which I have to admit, at the moment, I was. I almost smirked at the look on her face… almost. She looked so damn surprised, especially looking at the cold look on my face, probably wondering what made me this way. If she knew she wouldn't though, she probably wouldn't make eye contact either.

About 10 minutes later, I found myself in a dull and boring **(1)** office with two dull and boring people, the heads of MI6, Alan Blunt and Mrs. Jones. Funny how as soon as I stepped into that office I went from cool and collected to enraged and utterly murderous.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED THIS AFTERNOON!?!" I yelled the question at them not able to keep my feelings bottled up anymore.

"Yes we are fully aware that 3 men from SCORPIA broke into your house at precisely 3:06 this afternoon and killed Ms. Jacqueline Starbright…"

"YOU KNEW AND DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO HELP!?!" I cut Blunt off, too out of it to be rational.

"Alex." Mrs. Jones said trying to calm me down, "By the time we found out Jack was already dead…" She continued talking but I didn't bother listening.

"… So for your own protection, I think the best thing we could do is send you on a mission in Canada. By the time you get back we will have everything sorted out." Mrs. Jones continued snapping me out if my daze.

"WHAT!?! There is no way in hell that I'm going to Canada for a stupid mission for my _protection_! This is just another excuse to use me!!! Well let me tell you something, I'm not going to do it! I'm not putting up with this shit any longer!!!! I'm out." I yelled storming out of the room. They let me go probably thinking I needed time to cool off.

People shot me strange looks as I continued storming down the halls, they probably had heard me yelling, but I didn't care, why would I?

Once outside the fresh air cleared my head and I was able to think straightly again. I wasn't sure what to do exactly but I knew two things. 1. I couldn't go back home… well, I could, but that would be suicidal. 2. I would NOT go on another mission for MI6!

The first thing I had to do was get out of town, I could go by bus but first I needed money. I went to a real bank and withdrew all my savings since when _they_ figured out what I was doing _they_ would probably shut down my bank account.

I took the bus two towns over and headed straight for the woods for it would be easier for MI6 or SCORPIA to track me down if I rented an apartment not that I was old enough. So I will be camping until I can come up with phase two.

It took a while but I finally found the perfect place. It was a small clearing and the ground was flat and it was on higher ground to prevent flooding. The clearing was deep into the woods and had good covering, surrounded by lushes green trees and ferns. A fully grown adult would have some trouble getting here but I had no problem at all.

I had memorized the way here because it would be dangerous to leave a trail for someone could stumble upon it. I returned to town just to pick up a few things; tent, sleeping bag, blanket, flashlight, water and a bit of food. I would get the rest of the stuff I needed tomorrow. I was careful not to stay in town too long since it would be dangerous. I 'borrowed' a shopping cart to help me carry my purchases. I used it until the undergrowth was too thick and made several trips to get all the stuff to the clearing.

After that I cleared my tracks, ditched the shopping cart and made myself almost untraceable.

I got back to the clearing and got to work once again. Setting up the tent took no time at all. I unrolled the sleeping bag and sat down. A wave of tiredness washed threw me, all today's events finally catching up to me.

Being this tired, I could not stop the tears that began to roll down my cheeks. I cried for the loss of Jack, I cried for losing my last chance at a normal life and I cried for the way my life going. I hated crying it made me feel weak though this time there was really nothing I could do to stop myself.

I cried myself out after a while feeling more exhausted than ever. I forced myself to eat one of the granola bars that I bought knowing I would need the strength. I put the food into my backpack, which was one of the only things I had with me for I had been at school, and hung in on a tree so animals couldn't get at it and went to bed. I drifted off to sleep planning out my day two as a runaway.

**Author's note: Was this ok? Was it too predictable? Please tell me. Thanks for reading.**


	3. Author's Note

**Author's note**

**Sorry, forgot to say last chapter that the one was for saying, 'I know that dull and boring mean the same thing, it just sounds good.' Any way I'll try to update soon. Please tell me your ideas for my story if you have any, I'd be happy to hear them.**

**Thanks**


	4. Chapter 3

***Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider.***

**Author's Note: I am SO sorry I haven't updated in so long, it's just that I've been busy. I know being busy is no excuse especially when 'busy' means using up all your computer time to play Sims 3 or write (not fanfiction but my own original story). Thank you to Crown-Daydreamer for pointing out my mistake. Anyway if you happen to be looking at the reviews pay no attention to reviews by KatieKatBar or Isabella Who because though they are my friends and I love them, they are being rather annoying, especially KatieKatBar (no offense if you're reading this guys). This is getting kind of long, so on to the story.**

**Chapter 3**

I woke up drenched in sweat from yet another bloody nightmare, this one involving Jack; I had a feeling that they wouldn't get better for a while. Of course that is to be expected now that I've lost everything I've worked so hard to get back.

Normally I would go take a nice long warm shower after having a nightmare because I can't stand the feeling of being sticky with sweat. Then again, normally I wouldn't be camping out in the woods of an unfamiliar area while being hunted like prey by a criminal organization. Well besides the being hunted like prey by a criminal organization that was normal.

Though getting up didn't sound too tempting right now I knew I should get up and get an early start. Today was probably going to be as bad if not worse than yesterday and to be truthful I wanted to go crawl under a bloody rock and die. I couldn't do that just yet though; first I had to make sure those bastards that killed Jack got the slow and painful deaths they deserved. Thinking of them begging for death while I torture them made me smile involuntarily then I caught myself. What kind of monster was I becoming?

What I had to do today was necessary. I needed to create a new identity for myself; I could no longer be Alex Rider, well I could but not in public. My situation required that I change everything to make my cover more believable. I had to change my style; something that no one would ever think was me…

I thought for a bit then an idea came to me. Emo* would be perfect, no one would expect that and the style is pretty easy to imitate.

The sun was already up and I say it was about 11 o'clock when I started eating. I have to say it was really beautiful out here and under different circumstances I would have enjoyed camping here. After eating breakfast also known as a granola bar, I put the food back up in the tree and got ready to go.

It was a hot day and the weather was unusually nice so I took my time walking to town. When I got to the town I went in the first hair dressers I could find. At the counter were two young women, one with long light brown hair and one with short blond hair that was obviously dyed.

"Hello, you know you shouldn't skip school." The dyed blond one said bluntly

"I'm not skipping, I'm home schooled. My parents gave me some money and told me to get a haircut." I lied easily.

They believe the lie without question and I got my blond hair cut a bit shorter with side bangs. Then it was dyed jet black with a single pink streak on my now black bangs. I gasped in surprise when I saw my reflection, I expected myself to look different just not this different. The black in my hair made my skin tone look lighter and in all simply made me look different.

It took an hour to get my hair done and I still had a lot to do but I couldn't do it now. The blond hair dresser had reminded me of a huge mistake that could get me caught. I should have waited until school was out to go into town. It's much easier to find a kid when most other kids are in school. Sure some kids skip but not that many. What had I been thinking!?!

Once back in the woods I felt safer, I walked down the familiar path to my temporary dwelling. I let out a small sigh of relief when I saw that everything was exactly how I had left it. I plan came to mind of course I would have to wait until I get the supplies but after that I would set up traps all around my campsite to keep intruders out.

There had been a clock in the hair dresser so I knew it was 1o'clock. I still had a couple hours to kill before I could go back in town. Running my fingers through my bangs, I decided that it would be a good idea to explore my surroundings in case of intruders so I would have the upper hand.

I took my backpack but left most of the food in a grocery bag tied to the tree and left. I know I've said this a thousand times but this place was extremely picturesque, running away was the best thing I've done in a while. I should have done it before then maybe Jack wouldn't have died because of me.

I walked along the stunning landscape stopping only for water breaks. After a couple hours I explored the area all around my campsite. I was sure that it was now close to five so it would be safe to go back into the city.

I went to the mall to do some clothes shopping first. I tried on what seemed like hundreds of clothes before picking five outfits that was all I would need for now. I got two pairs of black skinny jeans, some dark colored t-shirt bearing names of bands I've never heard of, a baggy black sweater, a studded belt and two black wristbands.

I was happy with my new cloth, though they were far from what I would usually wear, and changed into one of my pairs of skinny jeans and a black tee. I almost laughed when I looked in the mirror for I looked so different.

After clothes were done, I went to but some rope, a net and some other things I required. My new look caused some adults to look at me warily as if waiting for me to steal something but I shrugged them off.

On the way out I saw some girls eying me suddenly one of them came up to me.

"Hi" The girl said nervously, she had natural black hair that fell to her waist and emerald green eyes, she wore no make-up nor did she need to. She was gorgeous.

"Hello." I responded politely giving her a small smile.

"Um… I'm Candice, I-I saw that you were all alone and I was w-wandering if you wanted to h-hang out some time." Candice stuttered turning bright red.

I thought about it for a minute but seeing this girl once in awhile would probably not cause me any trouble, plus it'll give me some normality. I couldn't give her my real name so I thought up an alias quickly.

"Sure, that would be cool. I'm busy right now. So could you give me your number and I'll call you tomorrow or something. I'm Jake by the way." I smile amused at the look on her face shock on her face, she seemed surprised I hadn't said no.

"Okay." She said smiling; she took a pen from her bag and wrote her number on my arm. I watched her walk back to her friends before turning away to start back towards the woods.

I walked back to my temporary dwelling feeling surprisingly light, it would feel nice to hang out with someone who didn't know me or think I was a freak.

Once back 'home' I set up the traps. They didn't take very long to set up but would be effective against intruders. It gave me a small since of security that I put them up. It was dark; the sun had set an hour beforehand. I ate a snack before slipping into my sleeping bag falling into a restless sleep; I can't push my problems back when I'm asleep.

I had been sleeping for god knows how long when I awoke to the sound of footsteps and rustling leaves. I sat up in the sleeping bag it was still dark. Suddenly there was a yelp, one of my traps had been sprung. I had been found…

**Author's note: first of all no offense to anyone that is emo. I actually researched the style on Wikipedia. This is super pathetic but this chapter took me hours to write because I'm easily distracted. The girl, Candice, was a random idea that popped into my head, so I have no idea where that's going. My chapters are slowly getting bigger which i find is awesome. Hope you like this chapter; sorry again about how long it took. Please review and tell me what you like, what you don't, your ideas. Thanks **


	5. Chapter 4

***Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider or any characters from Mortal Instruments, Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Twilight. The only character I do own in this chapter is Noah (mini dude).* **

**Thank you to everyone that has read my story up to this point and double thanks to anyone who has reviewed. I am seriously annoyed with myself for not updating sooner but I had to do an English book report (so boring!) and yeah… so on to the story. **

Chapter 4

_I had been sleeping for god knows how long when I awoke to the sound of footsteps and rustling leaves. I sat up in the sleeping bag it was still dark. Suddenly there was a yelp, one of my traps had been sprung. I had been found…_

I jumped up from the sleeping bag, flashlight in hand. "What if _they_ found me!?" I thought panicked. I heard a groan and warily headed toward the sound. I was careful to avoid the other traps I had set; it would be so intelligent to stuck in one.

When I found what trap had gone off I shone the light on the now upside-down person and nearly laughed at what I saw. It was a boy, no older than 12. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes that shone with fear and surprise when I flashed the light on his face. I felt slightly mad at myself for getting so worked up when it turned out to be nothing.

"Please don't hurt me." The boy said in a small voice obviously scared but what normal person wouldn't be.

"Don't worry I won't hurt you." I told him in my most gentle voice, "I'll cut you down but first you have to promise me a few things, you will not run once I cut you down, you will not go to the police and you will tell me what you are doing out in the woods by yourself at night."

"I promise" He said weakly.

"Good, now hold still while I cut you down." I took the pocket knife that I always kept in my pocket out and slit the rope around his ankle, catching him before he fell. I place him on the ground and waited for him to get up. Once I let him down he seemed less afraid but he tried to run I'd pin him down in 5 seconds flat.

"Come on." I said gesturing towards the campsite. The boy walked in the direction of my makeshift dwelling and soon enough we were back at camp.

"In here" I told him lifting up the flap of the tent. He went in and sat down on one side of my sleeping bag. After closing the flap, I went to sit on the other side and started asking questions.

"OK kid, you have to answer my questions. First of all tell me your name."

"That's not a question." He pointed out.

"Fine, what's your name?"

"Magnus Bane." He answered after some hesitation. I rolled my eyes, how stupid did this kid think I was.

"I've read The Mortal Instruments trilogy so don't even try it. Now tell me your real name."

"Alec Lightwood."

"Don't you listen, I just told you I've read that series besides your no Shadowhunter." I joked thinking if I kidded around with him a bit he would open up.

"Yes I am. I fight demons all the time."

"Sure you do…" I agreed sarcastically, "Tell me the truth."

"My name is … Percy Jackson" And with that he burst out laughing. I didn't find it too funny; I was just about ready to strangle the kid.

"Who are you going to say you are next? Edward Cullen?" I asked annoyed. He didn't seem to get the annoyed part because he asked;

"How did you know?"

"This has gone on long enough. Tell me your name or else…"

"Or else what?" He challenged me.

"Or else I'll just call you mini-dude until you tell me your name." I said smirking.

"That would get annoying so I guess I might as well tell you. My name is Noah White." He told me pushing away the long dark brown hair from his eyes.

"Do you swear your telling me the truth?" I asked suspiciously.

"Cross my heart." He said looking sincere, "You still haven't told me what your name is."

"My name's Jake Collins." I lied, I didn't really want to but it was the only way.

Noah yawned suddenly and only then did I realise how tired he looked. He had bags under his eyes and he just looked plain tired.

"Noah, I'll continue asking you questions tomorrow; right now you should sleep now."

"Where? You only have one sleeping bag." He pointed out.

"You can use my sleeping bag I'm not planning on sleeping anymore tonight."

"Technically it's today because it's four in the morning." Noah corrected me showing me the time on his watch.

"Whatever! Just go to sleep!" I said exasperated by the annoying boy.

"OK, OK, gosh don't spaz." He muttered sleepily under his breath before crawling into my sleeping bag and failing asleep within minutes.

OK… What was I going to do with myself until he woke up? As if my stomach had heard my question it started growling.

I ate another granola bar, boy was I getting sick of those things, and reset the trap that captured Noah.

Speaking of Noah, I went in to check up on him and found him thrashing around in his… I mean my sleeping bag. I walked over to him, kneeled beside him and rubbed his back and murmured soothing things to him as Jack had sometimes done to me after I came back from a mission before… No, I would not, could not, let myself think about her. I concentrated on the boy sleeping before me he started calming and looked relatively peaceful.

I move a bit farther away from Noah and sat down at a farther end of the tent contemplating what I would do with the boy once he woke up. Noah couldn't stay with me for his parents are probably worried and if SCORPIA found me, he would most likely be killed.

A few hours later Noah woke up, I handed him something to eat, a granola bar, god I had to by some more food besides granola bars and fired off with the questions again.

"OK Noah, why were you wandering around the woods in the middle of the night? Aren't your parents worried?" I asked genuinely concerned for the kid. He let out a sharp bitter laugh which surprised me before answering.

"I highly doubt that. My mom died when I was eight and my dad's an alcoholic and he abuses me. See." He replied bitterly, rolling up the sleeves of his long sleeve royal blue sweat shirt; there were a lot of bruises, cuts and scars on his arms. He pulled down the collar of his shirt to show me hand shaped bruises on his neck and I gasped. Not really because of the injuries, I've seen worse, heck I've had worse but because it was his own father that did it to him.

"I know where you're coming from. Both of my parents died when I was a baby and my legal guardians abused me before I ran away." I said thinking of MI6, technically not lying, it was true they had abused me, just not in the way Noah's father abused Noah.

One of Noah's eyebrows shot up sceptically not sure if he believed what I had said. "Show me some proof." He demanded.

That was no problem for me I had plenty of scars from past missions. I rolled up my sleeves and Noah inspected my arms, seeming to believe me.

"So Noah, you ran away too right?" I asked him and he nodded.

"How old are you?" I continued to question him.

"I'm 12. What about you?"

"I'm 15."

"Is is OK if I stay here with you? I mean I don't want to bother you but it gets pretty lonely being by yourself all the time." He pleaded me. I pondered it for a minute but then I decided he would stay. It would be safer for him here than anywhere else.

"You can stay." I told him. He smiled and was so happy he didn't even realise that he came up and hugged me. When he realised what he just did, he blushed and backed away looking embarrassed.

I ruffled his hair and smiled thinking maybe, just maybe I would get my chance at a normal life after all.

**Author's Note: OK, I know cheesy ending but I wanted to end it there. On another note, I need help deciding if next chapter should be from Noah's point of view or still Alex's. I want you guys to help me decide for if I do Noah's POV it'll spoil something that I have planned as a surprise. I wouldn't mind doing that but I don't want you guys hating me for ruining it for you. Please tell me what you think and review. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 5

***Disclaimer: I do not own**** Alex Rider.* **

**Author's Note: If you hadn't noticed I update every 7-14 day, depending on my mood or if I'm busy doing something else, but if I get more reviews, I'll update more often. **

Chapter 5

It was 10:00 am Saturday morning; I could finally know the time instead of having to guess since Noah happened to have a watch on him when he ran away.

There were other advantages to having the kid here as well; he was great company, always lightening the mood. I was glad I had someone else to talk to; speaking of which I should call the girl I met a couple days ago or she'll think I was just saying yes to be polite.

It's not that I'm looking for a serious relationship at the moment, no I had enough on my mind, but it would be nice to hang out with someone that doesn't know I'm different so I could be a normal teenager for once.

"Noah, we have quite a bit to do today, but I have to ask you one more thing and it's really important OK?" I said seriously

"Sure, shoot." He replied sitting on a rock outside the tent.

"Before you ran away, did you live around here?"

"No, I lived several towns over. Why do you ask?"

"I asked because I'm wondering if it's necessary for you to have to change your looks." I told him pondering the idea for a moment.

"I don't really think it's necessary for my dad is probably ecstatic that I ran away but I want to do it just in case besides it might be fun. Did you change your looks?" Noah asked curiously.

"Nah never needed to, my guardians don't give a damn about me so I'm safe. So what do you say we go to the mall today. I could take you to the hairdressers and to buy some new clothes besides I told this girl, Candice, I'd call her but never really had the chance. You know with no phone and all." I really hated lying to Noah but until I trust him completely and know he won't think I'm a nut job I'll just have to keep lying.

"Sounds cool." Noah replied trying to sound nonchalant but failing, miserably.

"Hey Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"While we're out can we get some decent food, I'm tired of eating granola bars. I swear if I eat ONE more I'm gonna be sick!"

"Yeah, I am SO with you on that!!!" I replied, happy that he reminded me.

On our way into town from the woods, I told Noah to try and memorize the path so if ever I weren't there he wouldn't get lost. He didn't look to happy when at the thought that I might not be there all the time but I needed him to be more independent so if something ever happened to me… I wouldn't think about that now.

First stop was the hairdressers; I made sure that we went to a different one then the one I went to before so I wouldn't be recognized. He got his hair dyed black so he could pass as my brother; I have to admit we did look a bit alike.

The second stop was the mall, I bought Noah the clothes he wanted which made him happy then I went to a payphone to call Candice.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Candice?"

"Yes, who is this?" She asked seeming confused.

"It's Jake. You know the guy from the mall?"

"I didn't think you would call. All my friends told me I shouldn't have wasted my time and I just embarrassed myself." She told me seeming flustered, "Geez" I thought "What nice friends."

"I thought it was brave. Well anyway I'm at the mall if you want to hang out. But just to warn you, I'm watching my brother today." It was hard to keep my voice impassive for Noah was glaring at me and it was just too funny.

"I don't mind. How old is he?"

"He is 12 years old."

"Ah… So what time do you want me to meet you?"

"Anytime is good."

"OK, I'll be there in an hour and I'll meet you at the front entrance. Bye."

"Bye." And with that I hung up.

"So Noah what do you want to do for an hour?"

"Um… Book shopping!" He responded excitedly. I should have known the kid's a bookworm.

"OK let's go, but don't go overboard."

We walked through the mall until we came across a bookstore. Noah eyes grew bigger in his excitement as we walked in. It took him 50 minutes but he finally decided on what books he was buying or should I say that I was buying for him. He ended up with 5 books; The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod books and the Hunger Games trilogy.

I looked at a clock on the wall, "Oh Crap! We have to meet Candice in 5 minutes!" We rush towards the front entrance just as Candice was walking in.

"Hi Candice." I said walking up to her smiling.

"Hello." She said to me before turning to Noah, "I'm Candice; you must be Jake's brother."

"Yeah, I'm Noah." Noah replied shyly.

"It's nice to meet you Noah." She told him looking more confident than last time.

"Candice have you eaten lunch already?" I asked hoping she hadn't for Noah and I hadn't and we were both hungry.

"As a matter of fact I haven't."

"Would you allow me to buy you lunch?" I asked her ignoring the gagging noise Noah made after I did.

"OK, thank you. You are such a gentleman." Candice replied smiling flirtatiously at me.

Candice, Noah and I ate and walked around the mall for a while before Candice had to go.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stay for very long but I promised my younger sister, Elora, that I would help her get ready for her date. She's 13 so if it doesn't work out maybe you, me, Noah and my sister can double. I really have to go. Bye, call me." Candice suggested before leaving.

"Never again. Next time you're going to see her leave me out, ok?" Noah complained after she left.

"Come on don't be mean, besides you got some new clothing and some books."

"Yeah I know, sorry. Can we get some good food now?" He asked smiling.

"Sure, you know I'm just as sick of eating granola bars as you and we should also get another sleeping back and an inflatable mattress. That would be nice the ground is killing my back."

"Jake, you sound like an old man." Noah told me smirking.

"You shouldn't be so disrespectful towards the person in control of the money."

"I am ever so sorry, will you ever forgive me oh great and mighty master." He replied cheekily. I rolled my eyes at him.

"You are so immature!" I muttered under my breath not meaning for Noah to hear me.

"I know you are but what am I?" He replied so apparently he had heard me. I didn't bother responding because I knew I couldn't win this battle.

We went to the store and bought for food, some hot-dogs, hot-dog buns, some more water bottles, some fruit and some chocolate which Noah insisted on. I hesitated before buying the chocolate for Noah is hyper enough as it is without adding sugar. We also bought another sleeping bag, some matches, a cooler and a double air mattress.

Somehow we managed to get everything back to our temporary dwelling and set everything up just before dark.

After that we made a fire and cook our hot-dogs for super. Noah wanted to have chocolate for dessert but I told him it was too late to get hyper. I made sure all the food was secure, the traps were set and the fire was out before going to bed.

Noah was fast asleep by the time I got in the tent and I followed soon after.

It was late when I woke up to the sound of someone thrashing around and whimpering. "Oh not again." I thought.

I turned over to face Noah, who was on the other side of the air mattress and started rubbing his back. Unlike last time this did not calm him. I had no choice but to wake him up.

"Noah, Noah wake up." I said shaking him gently, then all of a sudden his fist shot out and hit me in the face.

"OW! Damn it!" I cried out in pain.

"I am so sorry Jake I didn't mean too, it's just a reflex." He sounded genuinely sorry so I believed him.

"OK, just go back to sleep." I said rubbing my cheek.

"OK" Noah replied and was quite for a while.

"Jake? Are you awake?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"Nothing I just wanted to thank you for everything. You gave me a second chance at life." Noah yawned then his breath evened out and I knew he fell back asleep.

What he said really touched me, I was glad I had made such a big impact on this kid's life.

**Please review**


	7. Author's Note2

***Author's not****e***

**I'm sorry to say that I shall not update for a bit for I may have found a publisher interested in my own story so I'll be working on that for the next week. Sorry for any inconveniences. **

**-**Graceful Swan 29


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